The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-09-20
CHARIOT AvENGEs MEsMER.
Investigations Of Hypnotism By the
Academy OF Medicine.
Correspondence Of The Nelo Yor.: Tribune.

; the Saltpetriere for the nervous diseases of
women Not only, indeed, has this illustri-
Gus physician shown that the charlatan
whon the elder Dumas introduced with
such telling effect into his novels la Com
te@se de CharnyH and lie Docteur Bal
samo.n was no mere charlatan, but a NUM-
Der Of Charcot's disciples have proved the
truth of what Dumas seemed 10 draw from
his rich Imagination. The impression
is still fresh of the suicide Of an
unfortunate young girl Under the
stress Of mental suggestion The sug-
gestOr belongs to the medical profession
and Is worthy Of lying in the same buTying-
ground with the nefaTious Doctor de la
Pommerrais. He had acquired undue in
fiuence over the poor girl by hypnOtizing or
mesInerisIng her, and wanting TO get rid Of
her and to marry somebody else he ordered
her, at distance of many miles, to set
about committing suicide with pistol Dr..
Charcot, who Is a cautious man, has publicly
admitted hypnotic suggestion. He thinks
| extraordinary curative effects, so far as the
consciousness Of pain goes, are to be derived
from hypnotisnl, which is mesmerisIn with a
new Greek name But he always exnorts
laics not ~, dabble In it, and medical men to
keep IN hypnotic lore TO themselves.
This is c \ rrning after the way in which the
profess;on''of which Charcot is really a
( bright light treated Mesmerisn. Mesner
was an empiric. But he nevertheless got at
the truth
The illustrious Bichat did not believe that
there was any general system in medicine,
which he said was not a science to any
methodic mind. but collection of vague
and inexact ideas of observations often
1 puerile and of Earring formulas HomCeop-
athy was tatooet because 1t was not ortho-
/ dox by that Sanhedrim known as the Fac
| ulty of Medicine. Animal magnetism was
| long ignored on the ground that charlatans
had Nzalre Il
self-respect could follow them. Mesmerism
was treated with no less contempt until a
| new name was given it and Charcot de-
! clared that there was not only something
/ but good deal in it deserving the attention
of scientists
| DR.. Luys last Tuesday made communi-
/ cation to the Academy of Medicine on this
| subject which electrified the members pres
ent. Ii was on the action, both at a dis
| lance and by direct contact of certain
/ indicated or fermented substances on hyp-
motto subjects The latter were all women
! who could not possibly have got their cue
/ beforehand, and were being observed, while
DR.. Luys operated, by a jury of scientists
above all suspicion of having lent them
selves to any trickery. A tube in one in
stance was filed with sulphate of strychnine
| by DR.. Luys, and the subject who was not
| present, was told to put it TO the left side
| OF the nape of ner neck Soon after
there was a telephone message from the
| foreman of the jury TO say that the patient
suffered in the left side from muscular con
| fractions, cOnvuIslve starts and a rigid
| body. When the drug was placed on the
| right side OF the nape lin imagination the
| same phenomenon took place. An expert
| nent, or rather experiments, were made on
subjects who were brought in to the opera
tor They had no idea what DIR. Luys was
| going to use. Alcohol, when put to the
nape in tube no larger than homeo-
pathists vial. and Theoretically sealed, pro-
| duced exactly the same effect as if imbibed
| at a bar. Absinthe, haschish, opium.
morphine, beer, champagne, tea and coffee
| were iii succession tried with their charac-
| teristic effects. But 1.-THE cup which cheers
but not inebriates" was found too exciting
| for French neuropaths Valerian caused
the deepest sadness. The thoughts of the
| patient were conferred in grave She was
! compelled iTTesistibly to stoop down and
scratch the ground, and thought herself in
a cemetery exhuming a deceased relative
| whom she loved. Under the illusion she
| fancled herself picking up bones belonging
| to his skeleton, which she handled with ten
| der reverence, and when there was an mag
| mary mound of them formed she placed
| with deep-drawn sight and tears and genn-
| Elections. cross above them Under the
influences of haschiah everything looked
rosy and gayety prevailed The subject
ii.
| She fancied herself on the stage and playing
part which suited her to perfection 1t
/ was In a bouffe opera and she sang her score
| admirably The sentiments were expressed
| with delicate feeling. Dr. Luys can, ac-
| cording to substances he uses run through
the whole gamut of human passions and
| emotions.
/ What is most strange is that no trace of
the fictitious world in which the hypnotized
| subject has been wandering remains when
| real consciousness is restored 1t is very
rare for even the idea of having been in
| dreamland to survive the awakening from
the hypnotic trance DIR. Lays says the
| hypnotic suggestion sometimes has periods
| OF incubation more or less long The sub
| ject is at first gently drawn to do "A certain
| thing or things, and then the drawing be-
comes an irresistible impulse. They are
| first as if tempte1 and then as if possessed.
They can no more help themselves than a
man who had got to the verge of Niagara
| Falls in a boat could help going over.
| Dr.. Roger moved that the AGA lemy name
a commission to inquire into hypnotic SUI
| gestion, near and at q distance. Dr. Bron-
ardel supported him. He said, IAN that
Dr. Luys has alleged and shown canuot fail
TO make noise throughout the world No
! body save NJ NJ Burot and Bonren have gone
so far as DR.. Luys. He not only forces on
the attention OF the academy the question
of hypnotism, but of persons being affected
| by poisonous substances which do not pene-
trate, or il may be even touch their bodies.
This rs from n legal point OF view a great
danger. A great social responsibility l. in
| volvei in toe matter. II is the duty of tue
academy to have the experiments Of DR..
Luys repeated, with others that bear upon
| them
Hypnotism or animal magnetism has been
| a little more than n hundred years despisad
and rejected by the doctors 1t was dis
covered by EienneSe, Mesncr who be-
| longed to that curious branch OF the Freema-
sons, the illuminate. When hs Lpll Stoer-
lex, the head of the Faculty Of Medicine at
Vienna, of his discovery, that learned owl
begged him not to diScredit that body by
talking of anything 50 absurd. He persisted
Sarcasm aud taen persecution Obliged him
to go abroad, aud he came TO Paris in l1iS.
The world of fashion and the court went era
| zy about him. He then sci up iIElhe Palais
| Royal where il mus. be said. IN a way that
was worthy OF charlatan, be worked his
discovery NJ lie Roy, Of the Academy
OF Medicine, thought him On the
scent of a great truth But the other doc
tors were OF the batSeyes sur1 and hunted
Mesrner down He wodt 10 stay at CIr.el,
where he applied his method ANA made his
famous magnetic pail, which interested NJ.
d'Eslon, head doctor 10 the Conte d'Artuis
| lafo L. IL.